What’s Up with Birth Control Pills?

I am passionate about women’s health, and have been for many, many years. I started off on my own journey 25 years ago to fix my own health, and then became a Naturopathic Doctor so I could continue to support women in their health journeys (men too, but this article is focusing on women’s health).

When I was a teenager and into my early 20’s, the birth control pill was something offered to women of my age to prevent unwanted pregnancies. It seemed to be a pretty good option, and I knew many women my age who were on the pill.

Fast forward 20 years. I am a doctor now working with women in their reproductive years, women in menopause, and young women just starting their cycles. It seems women at all ages are experiencing various disruptions in their hormone balance. I am seeing everything from early puberty to extremely symptomatic young women just starting their periods to women in their 30’s experiencing PMS, and women in their 40’s and 50’s suffering with menopause and menopausal symptoms.

Young Girls on Birth Control Pills

A particularly disturbing trend that I am seeing in the young girls who seek medical care to get relief from their painful periods, acne, mood swings or “irregular” cycles is that they are being offered the birth control pill. Now remember what the pill was originally indicated for – birth control. To PREVENT pregnancies. What happens to a young girl’s body when she is put on a hormone that essentially suspends her menstrual cycle at a time when her hormonal system is just beginning to regulate itself? How safe is this for our young girls? What are the long term effects of taking the pill?

I had an opportunity to discuss this topic recently with Carla Atherton, Director of the Lotus Health Project, Health and Nutrition Educator/Coach, and Health (R)evolutionary.

Carla had some really great questions about the use of birth control pills to treat hormone-related issues in young girls, especially below the age of 20. This is a topic that is of particular interest and concern to us as we both have daughters reaching puberty. They are in that age bracket where they could be offered the pill to treat symptoms they might experience when they start their cycle.

Reproductive Health Concerns

So lets say they start on the pill at age 14, and take the pill for 5 years. That puts them at 19. And now lets say, hypothetically, that this is the time where they decide to start into a sexual relationship, and really NEED the pill. And no, I am not naïve. I know girls younger than 19 are sexually active, and therefore likely need the pill younger than 19.

Remember that I am not arguing against the use of the pill for BIRTH CONTROL purposes. But back to the young NON-sexually active women taking the pill for acne or menstrual cramps who has been on the pill since 14, is now 19, and becomes sexually active. Maybe she needs the pill for another 5 years while she is deciding whether or not she is ready to settle down and have babies. By the age of 24, she has already been on hormones for 10 YEARS!! And has the whole rest of her reproductive life to decide how she is going to manage birth control as well as all the other issues that accompany hormone imbalances…

So what are the options to help our young girls deal with some of the concerns showing up around their menstrual cycles?

This was the conversation Carla and I had which can be heard during the upcoming health summit she is hosting.

Children’s & Teen Health Summit

Carla created the Children’s & Teen Health Summit for parents, caregivers and the children and teens they care for. The bi-annual summit runs from September 14 to 20, 2015.

This free, online event will address a diverse buffet of topics during a week of interviews with leading experts in many health fields.